Week of July 3, 2005 Saturday, July 9 2005 | dmac Rocktave Releases XFact2 VST Instrument The XFact2 VSTi synthesizer for Windows that instad of using normal sawtooth and sine waves to create the sound, uses instruments from Delta SP Samplerbanks. You just load a Samplerbank and its instruments are used for the oscillators. It is similar to using SoundFonts, but when played in XFact2 there are more options and effects. XFact2 provides 7 effects, including reverb, delay, chorus and phaser. There are 3 LFO's per voice, a modulation matrix for the voices and a modulation matrix for the effects, 2 envelopes per voice, and 2 instrument-based oscillators per voice. In addition, there are filters, a wave shaping function and two step sequencers. The delay and sequencers as well as many other time based effects can be either synched to the host tempo or specified as absolute time units. Key Features 2 Oscillators - Combine two of up to 128 possible Samplerbank instruments. Combine instruments to make new instruments. Pitch glide. Polyphony control up to 32 voices. Can function as mono or polyphonic synth. 2 step sequencers. Modulation matrix for voice parameters. 7 Effects - Reverb, Chorus, Distortion, Delay, Phaser, EQ and XFilter. Effects modulation matrix with six LFO's. Effects pre and post gain. 3 LFO's per voice. 2 Envelopes with multiple shapes. Pitch bend, glide, attack and release. Stores up to 128 presets. Built in Sub presets for each effect and master effects. The XFilter is an experimental effect which is a bank of up to four filters that are processed in parallel, but the output is enveloped between each filter. For example, you have a lowpass, highpass, another lowpass and then a bandpass filter, and as the audio is processed, the output morphs from one filter to the next in a loop. Each filter's duration is adjustable. This can be used to create subtle filtering effects or more sweep and wah type effects. The other effects are regular standards, such as the delay and the EQ. Samplerbanks for use with XFact2 can be downloaded from Rocktave.com, or you can make your own using Delta SP, also available at Rocktave.com. If you have old sf2 files these can be imported and the instruments used in the Samplerbanks. XFact2 is available direct from Rocktave for $25.99. For more information, visit their web site at rocktave.com. Saturday, July 9 2005 | dmac Free Reason 3.0.3 Update Released Propellerhead Software announced the immediate availability of Reason version 3.0.3, a maintenance release that addresses several issues in Reason 3.0. Additional features added to Reason 3.0.3 include: Enhanced performance. The code has been optimized to deliver better performance than in Reason 3.0. Added Remote support for Frontier Design Group's TranzPort wireless controller and the M-Audio Ozonic FireWire keyboard. Remote SDK. The Remote technology has changed the way software and hardware controllers interact. Propellerhead Software have now created a Software Development Kit that will allow third party manufacturers to create their own Remote codecs to enable their controllers to interact with Reason 3.0. The SDK will be made public later this summer. The Reason 3.0.3 update is free for all registered owners of Reason 3.0. During development of Reason 3, the application was continuously tested with pre-release versions of Tiger to ensure compatibility. There are no known compatibility issues. Reload 1.0 - Propellerhead Software's sample conversion utility - also works with Tiger. However, there is a minor anomaly related to inserting Akai formatted CDs into a Mac OS computer. For this reason, a new version of Reload, called 1.0.1, went into beta testing on May 31st, 2005. For more information, visit their web site at propellerheads.se. Friday, July 8 2005 | dmac Groove Monkee Releases Two Producer Packs of MIDI Beats Groove Monkee is pleased to announce the release of two new Producer Packs of MIDI beats. Both collections contain over 3,200 royalty free beats and each covers over 40 musical styles. Designed to be as realistic as possible, these grooves employ a wide variety of techniques such as buzzes, drags, flat and double flams, ghosting and inter-kit dynamics.  Producer Pack #1: Rock, Jazz and World Beats - Over 3,200 GM mapped MIDI Beats - Over 40 Styles of Rock, Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Caribbean and Latin Music - Four formats: Single Track, Multi-Track, Groove Clip and Session Drummer - 300+ Odd-Meter Beats - 400+ Authentic Percussion Grooves (Bongo, Conga, Shaker, etc.) - Styles covered: Alternative, Ballad, Classic, Contemporary, Blues Rock, Funk Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Pop, Punk, Bop, Swing, Fusion, Linear Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Bembe, Conga, Mambo, Rumba, Songo, Calypso, Merengue, Reggae, Dance Hall, Bossa Nova, Baiao, Samba and more. Producer Pack #2: Hip Hop, Electronic and World Beats   - Over 3,500 GM mapped MIDI Beats      - Covers over 40 styles of Electronic Urban, Hip Hop, Afro-Cuban, Caribbean and Latin Music      - Four formats: Single Track, Multi-Track, Groove Clip and Session Drummer          - 100+ Odd-Meter Beats - 400+ Authentic Percussion Grooves (Bongo, Conga, Shaker, etc.) - Styles covered: West Coast, East Coast, Dirty South, Funk, Old School, Shuffles, Half-Time Shuffles, 12/8 R&B, House, New Jack, Breakbeat, DnB, DownTempo, 42TF, Garage, Jungle, Techno, Trance, Bembe, Conga, Mambo, Rumba, Songo, Calypso, Merengue, Reggae, Dance Hall, Bossa Nova, Baiao, Samba and more. The collections retail for $99.95 but are available now for an introductory price of $89.95. Available via instant download or on CD. For additional information and free samples, please visit groovemonkee.com. Thursday, July 7 2005 | dmac Yellow Tools announce Independence Yellow Tools has announced Independence, their new "Sonic Workstation" for sample libraries. Independence enables you to use, edit, customize and manipulate your instruments in one familiar environment, featuring an intuitive user interface, unique file management, an ultra fast streaming integration and the Auto-RAM-Cleaner which allows you to load unlimited instruments in seconds. Independence comes with a 7 GB sound library which contains a "best-of" collection of instruments from Yellow Tools products plus a lot of totally new content. Independence is fully compatible with Yellow Tools Modular Virtual Instruments Candy, Culture and Majestic and they plan to expand Independence continuously with more sound libraries. Additionally you can import WAV and AIFF files (up to 32bit/192kHz) and the Auto-Mapping Import feature lets you create your custom mappings in just a few seconds. Main features: 7 GB of sample content. Intuitive User Interface. Unlimited number of Layers. Ultra-Fast Streaming Technology. Auto-Cleaner (all audio samples which you are not using, get deleted from your instruments automatically). Search Function for the sound library database. The Premium Mixer enables you to mix all your instruments in Independence without switching to your host application. Unlimited BUS channels, unlimited Custom channels (internal, virtual channels) and also more than 30 insert effects and filters are just some of the features of the mixer. Tune Model: Choose between more than 50 different presets of arabic, turkish or oriental tunes for your instruments. Furthermore you can also create your own tunes and add them to your preset list. Alternate & Legato Mode: Stepper, articulations, up to 32 different alternates and a legato mode give your instruments the human touch. All these options are customizable. Import Yellow Tools Modular Virtual Instruments Candy, Culture and Majestic sound libraries plus WAV and AIFF. The Audio Editor enables the subsequent fine-tuning of the start/end points of the sample and also the loop markers, volume, pitch, etc. of each single sample. Insert Effects: You can assign an unlimited number of inserts to each channel. 30 different effects are included (EQ, Compressors, Filters, reverb, etc.) Extended KeySwitch: Beside the standard keyswitch between several Layers Independence also contains a "layer-internal" keyswitch. So you can switch not only between whole layers but also inside a layer between different playing styles, for example. MIDI Learn. Flexible Modifier: Using the "Flexible Modifiers" you can connect any source to any destination. You can use this feature to customize and manipulate your instruments as well as to simplify and automate your work. Sync: Any time related modules and insert effects can get synced to the host as well as to the internal tempo. Beside the tempo in BPM you can also assign an individual beat synchronization to each module. Many Presets. Yellow tools has also announced several software "Extensions" for Independence. These tools extend the performance of the Advanced Instrument Technology with features designed to user specifications. There are initially three available: PRO GROOVE EXTENSION Extend Independence with the option for tempo-independent grooves with unique manipulation of speed, sequence, length and pitch. PRO SURROUND EXTENSION The Pro Surround Extension adds entire support of any professional surround formats up to surround 8.1 and also special features for multi channel samples, filter and effects. PRO EFFEKT EXTENSION This Extension contains an additional insert effects bank with professional effects and filters, like Side Channel Compressor, Side Channel Gate, Pro Reverb, etc. Independence will cost €/$499 and is expected to be released in August 2005. It will be available for Windows XP and Mac OS X in VST, AU, DX, RTAS, ReWire, and Standalone formats. The extensions will each cost €/$99. More @ yellowtools.com. Thursday, July 7 2005 | dmac Version 1.10 Update for FabFilter Volcano Available FabFilter has released FabFilter Volcano version 1.10 which introduces the following important new features: EG MIDI note-on triggering LFO MIDI note-on triggering Filter frequency MIDI note-on triggering Dotted/Triplets mode for the LFOs Option to link the cut-off, peak and panning knobs for both filters Two new filter characteristics 'Gentle' and 'Extreme' This update is free for existing FabFilter Volcano users. If you have not bought FabFilter Volcano yet, version 1.10 grants you a new evaluation period to try the new features. Originally released on May 25, 2005, FabFilter Volcano is a versatile filter effect plug-in for Windows and Mac OS X, offering many modulation options and FabFilter's unique digital filter technology for analog-sounding filters. FabFilter Volcano is available for $139 (US) as an Audio Units plug-in and a VST plug-in for Mac OS X and as a VST plug-in for Windows. FabFilter One owners can purchase FabFilter Volcano for just $99 (US). System requirements are either Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) or higher with an Audio Units or VST 2 host, or Windows XP, 2000, 98, Me, or 2003, with a VST 2 host. For more information, visit their web site at fabfilter.com. Wednesday, July 6 2005 | dmac "Ethereal" Collection for Kontakt and HALion Released Precisionsound has released a new sample collection, "Ethereal," providing a collection of atmospheric multisampled pads, intended for many kinds of music. The company used both analog and digital hardware in combination with acoustic sounds, along with different kinds of sound processing software to create playable and useful sounds. The "Ethereal" SampleSet contains 39 programs for Kontakt 1.12 and later, and HALion 2 and later each. There are also 20 programs included for HALion 1. All programs are based on 134 seamless looped 24bit WAV files. Ethereal is available now at an introductory price of $29, valid until the end of July. For more information, visit their web site at precisionsound.net. Wednesday, July 6 2005 | dmac Voxengo Releases Version 1.6 of Crunchessor Version update 1.6 for Crunchessor--a general-purpose track compressor PC VST plug-in--is now available for download. Crunchessor was designed to be easy to tune while providing valve-type processing which is applied in parallel to compression. Version 1.6 features several important improvements: side-chaining support has been fully reimplemented. It is now possible to use a wide range of various side-chain channel combinations. Also, the plug-in now automatically detects side-chain support availability within the host. However, if the plug-in was unable to detect side-chain support you may still enable it manually. Side-chain monitoring now passes side-chain signal processed by the Filter option (i.e. as it is actually passed to the compression stage). This version also features more useful filter options; attack range of compressor has been increased to 400 ms; release range increased to 8000 ms. Crunchessor features: Easy compressor tuning Valve warmness Coloration styles Fast and slow attack modes True side-chaining Side-chain signal filtering Gain reduction meter Factory presets "A-to-B" comparisons Mono-to-Stereo, Stereo-to-Stereo processing All sample rates supported 64-bit internal precision Native assembler DSP code Voxengo Crunchessor is available for purchase on-line for USD 49.95. For more information, visit their web site at voxengo.com. Monday, July 4 2005 | dmac Voxengo updates Voxengo has updated MSED (v1.2), SPAN (v1.5.1) and Transmodder (v1.3). MSED v1.2 changes: Inline mode introduced. This mode allows you to adjust mid or side channel's gain in-line, without having to insert two MSED plug-ins in sequence. SPAN v1.5 changes: Bandpass sweeping implemented. Transmodder v1.3 changes: Narrow band sweeping function implemented. More @ voxengo.com.